Move over, Emily Post! When it comes to etiquette for members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community — as well as their straight friends, family members and coworkers — author and journalist Steven Petrow is …
Culture
Vote for Me for President! I Have Many Kids
With the arrival of Jon Huntsman, father of seven, into the Republican presidential primary race, the field is beginning to resemble a Holiday Inn on Kids-Stay-Free Weekend. There are big families all over the joint. And it’s not …
A Dumped Boyfriend Gets Even With an Abortion Billboard
Greg Fultz, 35, is causing controversy in his hometown of Alamogordo, N.M. To get back at his ex-girlfriend, Fultz erected a billboard on the town’s main drag in May claiming that his ex had an abortion.
From Legal Defense to Rallying Cry: How ‘SlutWalks’ Became a Global Movement
To be called a “slut” is no rare occurrence. Women are so labeled for sleeping with a man or for refusing to, for flirting or for simply attracting flirtation. Men call women sluts, women call women sluts, sometimes women even …
No Premarital Sex, Please. We’re British
Your Brain on bin Laden: Why Vengeance Is So Sweet
Schadenfreude — joy in another’s suffering or death — is a vicious pleasure. But it’s far less guilt-inducing when the victim is an enemy like Osama bin Laden, who has gotten his just deserts. Does that make it all right?
Royal Wedding Weight Watch: Wispy Kate Middleton Spotlights ‘Brideorexia’
If the popularity of bridal “boot camps” and shows like Shedding for the Wedding are any indication, losing weight for the wedding day ranks high on women’s lists of pre-nuptial tasks. So much so that the term brideorexia (a …
Global Spread: More People Think ‘Fat People Are Lazy’
Thin may be the American ideal, but that view appears to have gone global, a new study finds.
‘Paradise Built in Hell:’ How Disaster Brings Out the Best in People
In her 2009 book, A Paradise Built in Hell, author Rebecca Solnit describes how in the aftermath of natural and man-made disasters — such as the one unfolding in Japan — human beings tend to respond by banding together, not …
Mr. Potato Head Gets Off the Couch. Meet Hasbro’s Slimmer Spud
He may be little more than a massive carbohydrate, but that doesn’t mean Mr. Potato Head isn’t capable of cutting himself down.
Mixed-Race Celebrities on Race, in their Own Words
If biracial and multiracial celebrities have anything in common, it is that they are often asked to explain themselves. That may sound familiar to any person of mixed ancestry for whom questions like “What are you?” and the …
What Is Love? A Brief History of its Many Medical Meanings
Love isn’t just fodder for poets. For as long as people have been falling for each other, scientists have worked hard to locate the roots of love somewhere in the body.
The Path to Oscar Passes Through Motherhood
Being a bad mother, or even a controversial one, is one of the cardinal sins of the 21st century. But it’s not all hopeless. If you write about it, you might find yourself with a best-seller, as Amy Chua did. And if you play one …